Government and Opposition senior Members of Parliament were as at 1845 hours today locked in talks with Speaker Raphael Trotman in a bid to find a way forward on the passage of the Hydro Electric Power Amendment bill and a motion to increase the limit on loan guarantees.
However when the debate restarted at 1855 hours, Trotman said that there was no consensus found and therefore no compromise position arrived at. He said that the Opposition would be remaining silent on the Bill.
Leading the debate for Government was Prime Minister Sam Hinds who made his presentation prior to the 1600 hour recess. However, by the end of the recess, the parties were still locked in talks in an attempt to broker an agreement.
Hinds had introduced a number of amendments to the Bill which the Speaker had concerns about with regards to the timing of the presentation of the amendments.
Hinds said that the amendments were necessary as part of the obligations to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in terms of having a biodiversity offset for the project.
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud said it is troubling that the House is still debating this project given its importance and given that all parties during election time voiced support for a hydro project. He asked that the Opposition sees the merit of the project and thereby lending their support. The opposition has a one-seat majority in the House and their silence in the debate so far indicates that they will likely vote against it.
The discussions on the Amaila matter outside of the Chamber had been preceded by an acrimonious showdown as to whether four crucial local government bills would be taken through all of their stages. The opposition had wanted these proceeded with but it was eventually agreed after arguments by the government that the order originally set for the day would be followed with the Amaila project bill and debt raising motion to be dealt with.
